Everything you ever wanted
to know about the Family Coronaviridae -

and more...

by Radhika Dasmahapatra

Introduction

Hi everyone and welcome to Radhika's Coronavirus page. What are
coronaviruses? What do they do? Why are they important? This page will
answer these
pressing questions and more. In addition to discussing basic viral
features, the focus of the page is on the most common clinical
manifestation of Human Coronavirus infection, the Common Cold.

Historical
notes

Coronavirus was first isolated from chickens in 1937 by Beaudette and
Hudson. After the discovery
of Rhinoviruses in the 1950's, more than 50% of colds still could not be
ascribed to known agents. In 1965, Tyrrell and Bynoe used cultures of
human cilliated embryonal trachea to propagate the first human Coronavirus
in vitro. Now, approximately 13 species are known to be in this family,
some of which infect humans. Coronaviruses of cattle, pigs, rodents, cats,
dogs and birds also exist. When the the family was distinguished on the
basis of its distinctive morphology, it received separate classification
and the name corona because of the crownlike appearance of the
surface projections.

Click on the image to see a
negatively stained electron micrograph of a coronavirus, courtesy of A.J.
Cann, University of Leicester (UK).